Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Superdelegate Henry Endorses Barack Obama

Governor Henry, a Democratic National Convention superdelegate, today endorsed Barack Obama for president. The endorsement immediately drew national attention on the cable television news shows and numerous Internet sites, including The Drudge Report.
It was a surprising, and unexpected, development in the race between Obama and Hillary Clinton and came on the heels of Clinton's win in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary.
It's a surprise given Obama's record as the most liberal member of the U. S. Senate, and the fact he ran a distant second to Clinton in the Oklahoma presidential primary. It's unexpected, given Henry's earlier statement that he would not announce an endorsement until the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.
The announcement clearly was planned to follow immediately the Pennsylvania vote and was posted on Obama's campaign website, the same place the endorsements of OU President David Boren and former George U. S. Senator Sam Nunn were announced last week.
Henry called Obama an inspirational leader who can unite the country. He says the senator will be able to move beyond the divisiveness and partisanship that has characterized Washington politics.

The endorsement gives Obama the official support of 3 of Oklahoma's 10 superdelegates, while Clinton has the backing of 1 superdelegate. The rest are uncommitted.
The Henry endorsement is important for Obama; it continues a string of superdelegate endorsements for him and helps him rebuild whatever momentum he lost in Tuesday's loss to Clinton.
The endorsement comes on the same morning that The New York Times, which has endorsed Clinton, printed an editorial that came close to unendorsing her based on the tone of her "negative campaign."
Concludes the editorial: "It is getting to be time for the superdelegates to do what the Democrats had in mind when they created superdelegates: settle a bloody race that cannot be won at the ballot box. Mrs. Clinton once had a big lead among the party elders, but has been steadily losing it, in large part because of her negative campaign. If she is ever to have a hope of persuading these most loyal of Democrats to come back to her side, let alone win over the larger body of voters, she has to call off the dogs."

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